🥜 Hazelnuts
Allergen note
Hazelnut is a tree nut and one of the common food allergens. Offer it from around 6 months as smooth, thinned hazelnut butter or finely ground hazelnut, then keep it in the diet a few times a week. If your baby has severe eczema or another food allergy, talk to your pediatrician first.
How to serve
At 6–8 months, stir ½–1 teaspoon of thinned smooth hazelnut butter or ground hazelnut into oatmeal, yogurt or fruit purée. From 9 months, spread it very thinly on toast strips or bake ground hazelnut into muffins. Skip chocolate-hazelnut spreads, which are high in added sugar, before age 2.
Preparation
Toast shelled hazelnuts in the oven for about 10 minutes, rub off the papery skins in a towel, then blend until finely ground or keep blending into a smooth butter. Choose unsalted products with no added sugar, and thin the butter with warm water, breast milk or formula.
Texture and choking risk
Whole or chopped hazelnuts are hard and round and a well-known choking hazard, so do not offer them before age 5. Serve only finely ground nuts or thinly spread or thinned butter, since thick spoonfuls can stick in the mouth, and always supervise.
Starting ages are typical guidance for healthy, full-term babies who show signs of readiness. Your paediatrician may advise differently, especially where there is a family history of allergy.
Track first tastes and reactions
Log when your child first tries hazelnuts, note any reaction and see it in the allergen tracker.
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